Midnight Pearl
by Meerakari
Summary: Kari and her friends recieved the chance of a life-time, and that included going to Japan.None of them expect what's waiting for them there and it may be more than they can handle. The regular's I'm using mostly are paired with OC's. KarixFuji or Tezuka
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own the story, only the character's I made. And i don't own Mori..sadly she belongs to my friend Alice. Read her fanfic btw for Hitman Reborn:D Hibari Isn't from KHR. Same name, same weapon. That's it. Sorry for grammar mistakes and spelling. I'm not the greatest writer. Plus, the first chapter is just a background of the OC's, I hope the story turns out how I'm envisioning. Anyway...

The Beginning

The wind was blistering cold. You could hardly see through the sharp darts known as snow. It was a _terrible_ day, and Kari liked it. She looked out the curtain of her window and sighed. If only she could prance around the snow, she would be in heaven. I mean, hey, people do rain dances and everything, why not do a snow dance? She sighed again and slumped into her over-bearing couch.

"Who to call, who to call…" She mumbled to herself. "Ah! Let's call Hana!" Her fingers flew across her phone and within a millisecond; the dial tone was already ringing.

"Hello?"

"HANA! I AM DYING!!"

"…umm you know, most people would say, hello to you too. But then again you _are_ Kari." Kari could imagine Hana rolling her eyes.

"You've got that right. Wanna hang out somewhere? I am bored to tears. There is no way there's going to be practice this week."

"You've got that right. Do you think our championship meet will be affected? Ehh whatever. We'll know when coach tells us. And yeah, want to hang out at Mori's dads' café?"

"Catch you in five." Kari hung up the phone.

"Well at least I'll be out of the house." Kari mumbled, yet again.

* * *

The Café

* * *

"Kyouya…"Kari's eyebrow twitched. "Let me keep this as G rated as possible…WHAT THE HELL IS SMART ASS HIBARI DOING HERE?!" Kari yelled.

"Well, he _is_ Mori's boyfriend, it's only normal that he's here." Hana rolled her eyes.

Kari crossed her arms and glared at Hibari.

"Don't worry; I'm not pleased to see this idiot here either." He jerked his thumb at Kari.

"Ass"

"I would call you something profane, however your non-existent mind wouldn't understand words of my intellect." He spat

"Pshh you wish bird brain."

"At least I have a brain."

"…YOU UNBELIEVABLE JERK, YOU LITTLE, SLIMY IDOT, STUPID, STUPID--"

"SHUT UP!!" Hana roared

Hibari and Kari immediately clasped their hands and bowed their heads, lips sealed tightly.

"I'm sorry Miss Hana." The two chorused softly.

"You better be." Hana sighed and sat back down.

"Uhm…So who are you guys swimming against on Friday?" Mori asked, changing the subject.

"Some high school…Mission San Jose right?" Kari looked at Hana.

"Yeah, they're supposed to be really good. Hopefully we can beat them." Hana agreed.

"Well, I hope you guys do well." Mori whispered.

The girls...and Hibari exited the cafe, leaving only Kari behind. She examined her bracelt, she always wore it--for the past ten years.

When she got back home, she immediately changed into her pajamas and jumped into bed. She closed her eyes, and dreamt of an oddly familiar park. She was there with three boys and one girl. The two girls were laughing and playing around the monkey bars. The youngest boy stood on the edge of the playground, refusing to go in. Another boy with light brown hair was laughing while sliding down the slide. The last boy, with glasses, sat on a bench, studying. The girl beckoned the stoic young boy to play with them, but he politely refused. Finally, they got him to go down the slide. Everyone was laughing. Kari's lips twitched upwards remembering the event. She had been so small back then. Her dream shifted into another scene. She was screaming and tearing at her parents' clothing, refusing to leave. She was shoved into the car and was scolded mercilessly by the driver. Kari suddenly jolted up, ending her dream. She was panting heavily. She looked down to her wrist where her bracelet hung. She kissed it lightly, closing her eyes and drifted back to sleep. Her lips opened a bit and she murmered,

"Tezuka..."

* * *

Day of the Swim Meet

"Get up there girls and WIN!" The coach yelled out.

Kari stepped on the bleacher and cupped her hands around her mouth. "SIRENS! Listen up! We are going to beat his team today! We will CREAM them! And you guys know what'll happen if we win right?!"

The team smiled and shouted, "The CHAMPIONSHIP!"

Everyone cheered.

"Ok everybody on three!" Kari smiled as she shouted

"1-2-3-SIRENS!" They all threw their towels into the air and cheered.

BEEP

"We will now begin the meet. Event 1, Medley Relay, Varsity Girls Heat 1." The guy announced on the loud speaker.

The girls rushed to their positions.

Beep

That signaled the first person of the relay to get in the water.

"WOOOHH! Let's go Wendy!!" The girls in Kari's relay cheered.

"Swimmers take your marks, BEEP"

The swimmers launched off on beautiful backstroke starts. Everyone was cheering; this meet would decide who would compete in the nation-wide swimming championship, representing the west coast.

"GO, GO, GO WENDY!! GOOO!!" Everyone was cheering crazily.

Hana stepped on the block, preparing to swim butterfly.

"You've got this Hana." Kari nodded at Hana.

"Oh they are _so_ going down!" Hana winked at her.

Wendy was nearing the wall and Hana did a relay start. Her butterfly was the best in the team; she was prepared to win this.

"Go!! HANA! YOU'VE GOT THIS!!" Kari roared.

As Hana neared the end of her 50, Kari stepped on the block. It was finally her turn to shine. Their lane was tied with the lane next to them for first. Catherine, the girl who would be swimming freestyle in their relay patted Kari.

"You can do this Kari! All you need to do is keep this tie and I can win this." Catherine said calmly

"Hey, don't get too cocky, who says it's only going to stay a tie." Kari smirked, preparing to dive.

"You forget that I'm a distance swimmer. A fifty is going to be a breeze." Catherine smirked back at her and yelled, "Let's go Kari!"

Kari dived off the block, executing her signature dive. The dive wasn't just average, it pulled her ahead of the girl next to her, putting her in the lead. She surged forward with strength and confidence. As she started her last lap, she glanced at her side and realized the girl from Mission San Jose was catching up.

"Shit. That must be Salena, that crazy fast girl." She cursed in her head. "I can do this, I can do this! For the team!" She pushed herself to her limits.

Just before she was at the wall, she made one last stroke that almost tied her to Salena. Catherine immediately was off the block, sprinting with all she could. The two lanes were tied, neither one of them would give up. Suddenly, Catherine stopped taking strokes to breathe. She just kept swimming, without stroking to breathe.

"Insane woman" Hana muttered.

Catherine surged into the wall, almost tied with the girl next to them. They had won. As Catherine slowly got out of the pool, she cursed at Kari.

"Idiot! What happened to keeping the tie?! You forced me to almost drown myself imbecile!" Catherine mock-glared at Kari.

"Hey! I was racing against that insanely fast swimmer, Salena." Kari huffed

"Yeah, yeah, you're still the baby of our team. Anyway, we WON!" Catherine high-fived everyone.

"Yeah but that was only the first race, wait until the end of this meet and we'll see what happens." Hana advised.

The rest of the meet went smoothly. They didn't win all their events, but at least it seemed like they were tied with the other team. Kari was a breastroke swimmer, short-distance in anything else. She did fine in most of her event, but she only snagged fourth place in the 200 yard freestyle. At the end of the meet, everyone was tired but anxious for the result.

"Attention all swimmers, we have the results. The team that will be representing the West Coast is…."

Everyone was frozen in nervousness, awaiting the outcome.

"Mission San Jose High School!"

There was an enormous amount of applause, deafening to say the least.

The girls from (1) High School bowed their heads and respectfully applauded for their rival team.

"We did our best. That's all that matters." Their coach assured them.

"Listen up Swimmers! We have another announcement.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the announcer in confusion.

" (refer to 1) High School is not representing the west coast in the Nation-wide meet, however, they are representing the United States in the international swimming competition." The announcer smiled slyly.

"OH MY GOD!! WE'RE REPRESENTING THE U.S.!!" Wendy screamed

"OH MY GOODNESS, OH MY GOODNESS!!" Kari squealed "WE DID IT!!"

Everyone was jumping up in down with happiness.

The announcer grabbed his speaker again. "Ladies and gentlemen, I understand many of you are confused. The Untied States Swimming Association decided to let the winner of this meet represent the U.S. while the other team would represent the west coast. And you know what that means… (1) High School Wins!!" He cheered and congratulated both teams.

The two high schools congratulated each other, agreeing they would have a rematch when they met again.

* * *

At Mei's House

* * *

They were all at Mei's house, celebrating their achievement. They were surprised they had won after the announcer's sly deception.

"So where are we going anyway coach?" Wendy asked

"From what I know you girls will be flying to either Japan or Korea for the preliminaries…in two days." The coach's eyes twinkled with excitement.

The girls squealed in anticipation.

"You know what Japan and Korea means." Kari smiled

"Beyond imaginable guys!!" Kari, Wendy, and Mei squealed.

Hana laughed at the trio, not feeling mean enough to shoot a comeback to them. They had only two days to get ready for the time of their lives, two days and they would be gone. And she hated to admit it but, in two days, she would be in cute guys galore. She smirked to herself as she thought this.

--END--

* * *

..of chapter 1 at least :D

(1)Okay I have NO clue what to name their high school, any suggestions?! It would be greatly appreciated so I won't have to put a blank every time I name their school -.-


	2. We're finally here! Japan!

Sorry, I didn't have much time to write the story. This chappie is almost two times longer than the first one! ENJOY!

Airport

"We're going to Japan we're going to Japan"

The girls were giggling happily has they strolled down the enormous halls of the San Francisco Airport. Only the Varsity Girls had been chosen to compete internationally while the rest competed in the national competition. The team would be staying at a relatively high-class hotel since Hana's mother ran a chain of high-class hotels around the world. The team jumped up and down, earning curious stares and glances from others passing by. There were only a few girls on the team who could speak Japanese. Kari being one of them. Hana and Mori could also speak Japanese. Although Mori wasn't part of the swim team, she was invited to go along since she was the only one who could speak Japanese fluently. Hana knew how to speak it, however most of the time she was just too lazy to even try and Kari spoke Japanese, but she wasn't as fluent as Mori. Hibari was also coming along, not with the group though. He had been accepted to work in various offices in Japan, putting his witty mind and tonfa into use once again. The team headed toward the waiting area. It was three in the morning and hardly anyone was awake in the airport…except for the team. Eventually, they fell asleep on each others shoulders, the excitement wearing down with sleep over-taking them. Nobody could really remember how they boarded the plane or how they awoke strapped on in their proper seats, comfortably wrapped in their own blankets, heads draped over their small pillows. The flight had been as uncomfortable as any other plane ride—it was expected since their budget had been saved for better accommodations. They could pull through one uncomfortable plane ride…in return for stylish new team swim suits. The pilot was relatively skilled—Mori had no impulse to puke during the take off or landing. When they landed, the first thing anyone did was stampede towards the bathrooms. Everyone was cranky, sore, and frustrated. There had been absolutely no guys on the flight, besides the old grandpas and middle-aged men, mind you. More than half the team immediately pulled out their make-up bags, hoping to see at least some guys on the way to the hotel. Kari and Hana hung out lazily, waiting for the rest of the team to come out so they could leave. Kari was in no mood to wait and she was already cranky from the ride. She sighed loudly for the millionth time and stood up. Hana glared at her, but she ignored her. Kari stared walking towards the souvenir shops. She grumbled as she lazily dragged her feet towards the candy shop. As soon as she set foot into the annoyingly colorful shop, she heard a loud, "NYA!! OISHI!! THIS ONE IS PINK!" She immediately turned to exit the store, an annoyed look creeping up her face. She took one step in the opposite direction and a hand quickly flew to her shoulder.

"Nya you're cute! Just like this candy!" He held up a pink lollipop shaped like a panda.

Kari rolled her eyes and ignored him. She continued to walk out the store when the boy tried again, "Nya you want a lollipop?" He offered her another brightly colored candy only to see her walking out the store, ignoring him. He pouted then called Oishi, "Oi, Oishi, that girl was so cute!" He pointed at Kari. Oishi just shook his head and quickly ran to the girl to apologize for Eiji's behavior.

"Eh. Sorry for my friend's behavior." He bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"How'd you know what I did?" Eiji looked at Oishi in confusion.

"Well, knowing you, you just randomly run up to cute girls and scare them with your hyper personality." Oishi said

"So she _is_ cute!" Eiji smirked at Oishi's accidentally slip.

Oishi immediately blushed and apologized to the girl again. He looked at her face, only to find her staring curiously at him.

"Ano…Can I help you?" Oishi asked

"Ah…Sorry…I…" She trailed off, still staring at Oishi curiously.

"Erm…"Oishi squirmed uncomfortable at having a girl stare at his face intently.

"Eh? Oh…Sorry…Y-You just look sort of like this guy I used to know…"She shook her head and snapped out of her trance. "Sorry that was really rude of me." She glanced at Eiji. "And thanks; although you _are_ annoying, I don't feel so pissed and annoyed anymore." She beamed at him then ran back towards Hana who had been shouting her name for the past five minutes.

* * *

"ARE YOU DEAF?!" Hibari yelled in Kari's ear. "Hana has been yelling your name for an hour!!" He glared at Kari.

"Well excuse me, it was ONLY five minutes. Forgot how to count eh boy?" She glared right back at him

"Stop flirting with guys, you know they'll never pick you up." He seethed.

"OH YEAH?! I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT MORI SEE'S IN THIS IDIOTIC PIG BRAIN. YOU ARE FREAKING UGLY, STUPID, AND CLUELESS." Kari screamed, causing others to glance awkwardly at the two.

"PIG BRAIN?! DID YOU JUST CALL ME A PIG BRAIN?! WHY YOU DIRTY LITTLE—"Hibari was cut off by Kari

"Slut? Ohhhhh I'm in pain!! Hibari just called me a slut!! Ohh I think I'm going to die." She grabbed her chest, where her heart was located and pretended to fall slowly to the ground, and closed her eyes. She then suddenly popped back up, yelling, "PSHHH YOU WISH!!" and slapped Hibari on the back of his knee, causing his legs to loose balance. He fell to the ground and cursed at how stupid he was. He hadn't thought she would slap him. He angrily grabbed his tonfa and was about to strike Kari with it when Hana suddenly flew in between them, grabbing Hibari's tonfa and restraining Kari's hand that was about to punch Hibari in the stomach.

"KARI! HIBARI! Please…SHUT YOUR DAMN TRAPS!" When she saw Hibari and Kari still glaring at each other, she gave both of them a good, hard slap before dragging them along behind her. Hibari was still seething. Had he sunk so low as to be _slapped_ by a girl? Let alone let himself be _dragged_ by a girl? All because Mori had to be friends with these idiots. He sighed and yanked himself from Hana's grip. She raised her eyebrow but his annoyed face told her that he could handle himself unlike Kari. She rolled her eyes and continued to drag Kari to the exit of the airport. The girls saw their driver waving a card and hurried to dump their luggage in the trunk of the large truck. All of a sudden, Eiji and Oishi ran up to Kari, Eiji grabbing Kari's shoulders.

"Ey! Kari!" Eiji exclaimed

"Huh?" Her eye rose in confusion. "Wait…How the hell do you know my name…STALKER!!" She cried! Then, she laughed at Eiji's indignant face. "Heh, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. What's up?" She glanced quickly at the girls who looked like they were about ready to load her bags into the car. She called Wendy and asked her to put in her stuff in the car for her. She then turned and faced Eiji again. "So what did you two come here for?"

Oishi answered for them, "It may just be us, but you look a lot like this girl we used to know. Her name was also Kari."

"Oh my God. Is that you? O-Oi-Oi-Oishi?" She said hesitantly.

"Yeah! So it _is_ you?!" He exclaimed.

"Wait, about ten years ago, I came to Japan and met a few people. We played at—"

"Fujisaki Park" Oishi smiled. "Yeah, it is you. We've missed you." He smiled sheepishly.

"KARI! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!" Hana roared at her. Hibari had already taken a taxi to the apartment he would be staying at while at Japan so he wasn't there to verbally harass her at the time.

Kari quickly turned back to Oishi and Eiji and scrambled for a pen. "Here, uh…I'll..number…pen, phone…" She ended up scribbling her number on Eiji's hand in pink ink, exciting Eiji. She quickly yelled a goodbye and sprinted to the truck. Oishi and Eiji watched the truck pull away and turned to talk to Eiji.

"Never thought we'd meet her again huh?" He said to Eiji.

"Nya She's still as cute as before." He grinned. "Wait 'till Tezuka-Buchou and Fuji hear this." The two walked to the opposite side of the airport, waiting for Ryuzaki, their initial motive to be at the airport.

* * *

The girls arrived at the hotel, excited when they saw the exterior. It was an outstanding thirty-two stories tall, gold and silver trim lacing around the edges of the hotel. There was a large, large circle in front of the hotel for limo's and taxi's to drop off the guests with an enormous fountain in the middle. The girls oohed and ahhed at the marvelous sight and immediately rushed towards the grand doors once they got their luggage from the car. Coach Joanna yelled at the girls to quickly assemble in the lobby of the large hotel. The rooms were large, accommodating four girls comfortably per room.

"Okay girls, I'm going to announce your roommates. And No girls, don't you groan at me." She reprimanded the team. "Alright, Crystal, Debbie, Jessica, and Rachel. You girls are in room 165, the Contemporary room."

"Yes!" The three girls yelled in unison.

The coach nodded at the girls, signaling them to quiet down. "Moving along, Hana, Wendy, Catherine, Kari. You girls are in room 461, the Queen Elizabeth suite." She looked up. "You are some lucky girls. That's one of the best suites in this hotel…" The coach whispered to the four girls as they passed by.

They all went to their assigned rooms as soon as possible. Most of them were happy with who they were roommates with and what rooms they were assigned. The hotel was famous for having different wings. The West wing's rooms were all custom and standard, nothing out of the ordinary, only high-class beds and furniture. At the East wing, that's were all the different styled suites are located—like the ones the swim team were staying at. Each suite was modeled after something or someone in history. The North wing has suites modeled after other miscellaneous things. The rest of the hotel was large luxurious, and had endless accommodations. The girls immediately unpacked and started exploring the large hotel. Their swim team was stuck in the East wing since all the other rooms were being reserved for other guests. Kari and Hana walked around the hotel, trying to get themselves familiar with its layout in case anything happened. After exploring the large hotel for three hours, they decided to explore the rest of Tokyo. They only had their cell phones with them, no map so they randomly chose streets to walk on and hoped they wouldn't get lost. They walked for quite a while when they reached a quaint café. They decided to enter it and rest for a while. The two ordered drinks and waited for them to arrive. Kari glanced out the window to survey the surroundings. She saw people walking past the shop, a lot of them holding a bag from a sports shop. She stared out the window for a while, analyzing all the people passing outside the window. Suddenly, she saw some familiar black hair shoot past the window. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief and strained her neck to look for he person again, but they were gone. She turned back to Hana, who was lecturing her about improving her dive by tucking in her chin, or her toes…Kari wasn't paying attention to her. She turned her back towards the window and her jaw dropped with shock as she saw two more people with black hair rush past the store. She didn't know what made her do it, but she pushed back her chair and sprinted to the door, trying to catch up to them.

"—And you know, if you start working on your leg muscles, you can jump even higher when you're div—"Hana noticed Kari rushing out the door.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU UNGRATEFUL FOOL!" Hana yelled, but it was too late. Kari was probably on the other side of town by then.

"Humph. Immature little brat." Hana mumbled.

* * *

Kari sprinted down the crowded sidewalk, practicing her reflexes by trying not to crash into anyone. She looked around for the two guys, but she finally admitted that she had lost them. She would have to talk to Hana about building up her leg strength… She looked around her again and realized a couple of things. One, she had no clue where she was; two, she had forgotten to grab her cell phone during her stampede out of the café; and three, she was standing in front of a really cool looking sports shop. Now there were also a couple of things she could do. One, look for a pay phone since she had a few coins in her pocket; two, ask for directions back to the café or hotel; or three, look around the sports shop. She picked the last choice without hesitation. She opened the heavy glass doors of the small shop and glanced at the inside. She wasn't sure were to start looking. On her left, there were some cool sports shoes, in front of her were some interesting looking tennis rackets, and to her right…there they were. The three guys she had seen speeding past the café. She quickly walked over to the trio, not sure how to get their attention. She took a step forward to get closer to them, but a little boy and girl shot past her and tripped her—right towards the group of guys. Well at least now she wouldn't have to ponder how to get their attention. Especially since she was on top of a black-haired, bandana-wearing dude.

"Ah…Sorry…Er…Go-Gomen-Gomien-Go—"

"Don't push yourself…Kari." Kari's head shot up in surprise. She looked at the face that had said her name. She remembered clearly who he was. How could she ever forget? The face of the annoying brat she had to put up with ten years ago. He was only a baby back then, but he was still as annoying as ever.

"What's up Ryoma." Kari smiled at the boy.

"EHH?! DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS PRETTY LADY IS RYOMA?!" A tall, spiky black-haired, guy said.

"Erm…Yes?" Ryoma smirked.

"FSHHHHH. Explain." The guy Kari had crashed into said. She had to say, he _was_ pretty cute…besides the bandana, and the odd scary-ish smirk and the—

"Shouldn't you guys…ohh. That's why. Well I'll explain in about 5 minutes depending how fast you two can run." Ryoma challenged.

"WHY YOU…" The three boys took off running. Kari just stood there bewildered. Even if she _could_ catch up to the three guys, she had no clue where they were heading. She didn't know what to do so she decided just to stand there, hoping they would somehow come back for her. Just as the thought crossed her mind…

* * *

"Hah! Almost there. I'm going to win!" Momo yelled.

"FSH no way BAKA!" Kaidoh shot back.

"Oh crap." Ryome suddenly stopped.

"Huh?" Momo and Kaidoh questioned.

"Shit…We forgot about Kari. Damn…We have to go back and get her guys." Ryomo said nervously.

"Yo why are you suddenly so nervous?" Momo asked.

"…You'll see when you get there…" Ryoma shuddered.

* * *

Kari tapped her foot slightly impatiently and sighed for the umpteenth time. She was tired and she wanted to go back to the hotel.

"K...wheeze…Kari…s…sorry…wheeze." Ryoma panted when he reached the annoyed girl. He braced himself for any verbal or physical abuse he was about to receive, but flinched when there was none. He slowly uncurled himself and peeked up at Kari.

"Err…um…you're not mad." Ryoma mumbled.

"Nope." Kari grinned. "Why would I be mad?" Kari glared her evilly sweet smile at the three boys. "You three ran off, left me here, and you guys didn't realize anything until—" She glanced at the clock inside the sports store. "exactly seven minutes, fifty-three seconds. Now why would I be mad?" Kari smirked at the three trembling boys. "Now be a good by and lead me back to my hotel." When none of the boys said a word, she twitched. "I SAID NOW!" She roared. Immediately the three boys jumped up and bowed their heads. "Yes Ma'am." They led her through streets she couldn't remember in a billion years. Finally, they stopped in front of an apartment building.

"Um guys…HOTEL?! Not APARTMENT?!" Kari screeched.

"Well um about that…we have some important business with you and uh—" Ryoma stuttered.

"Oh my goodness. You did not just seriously kidnap me did you RYOMA?!" Kari yelled.

"You insolent fool, jerk, idiot, I will freaking KILL you and tear you apart bit by bi—" She looked up and suddenly released Ryoma whom she was holding a few feet above ground, threatening him. "TEZUKA!!" She laughed and ran up to the stoic-looking young man.

* * *

Ok, I STILL need a name for the high school the girls go to. Thanks Sandra(Pencil-Chan-Sama)--Dunno If i spelled your username right...sorry. for the suggestion of OUR high school name. Anyway. I RELALY REALLY REALLY need suggestions. And comments and reviews. Because as of now I am blindly writing a story that has no form of criticism...except from Ms. Alice here.

Anywayy, REVIEW! AND SUGGEST! AND CRITISIZE!!

Note: Scorchin' - thanks for the criticism. I thought about it and what you said really made sense. I'll be changing bits and parts of the first and second chapter to improve it. Special thanks to you!


	3. The Reunion!

Haven't updated in a while..sorry ^.^

"OhmygoshOhmygosh! It's really you Tezuka!" She laughed again as she hugged him lightly.

The said man raised his eyebrow slightly and the corners of his lips twitched up slightly. Just slightly.

"Where you uh…threatening my teammates?" His eyebrows rose slightly.

She glanced at the three boys, glaring at her in annoyance.

"No?" She smiled sweetly. She looked at Tezuka again and saw his eye-brow was still raised. "Fine, but they wouldn't bring me back to my hotel when I asked them to." She pouted slightly.

"It was under my orders." He said sternly.

She looked up curiously at him when he suddenly stood up and walked into his house. She instinctively followed him into the house and into his room. "Ehh? Otou-san, Okaa-san?"

"Shopping." He simply answered.

"Oh."

She looked around his room; she hadn't been in it for so long. She remembered when Fuji, Tezuka, and her would go over to his house to play. They would always go to Tezuka's house since his ojii-san was always home and enjoyed taking care of the three kids. Fuji and Kari would always play with whatever Tezuka had in his room, while Tezuka usually sat quietly on his bed, observing, or reading a book. She giggled quietly when she glanced at his bookshelf and saw the bottom shelf of his bookcase collecting dust.

"Tezuka, slacking are we? Those books haven't been touched in days!" She playfully teased him.

"More like years." He answered quietly.

"Years?" She walked to the bookshelf and bent down to look at the books. Most of them had a dark film of dust covering them. She scanned the bottom of the bookshelf, looking at the names of the books.

"You still have these books?" She picked up one of his favorite dinosaur books from back when she had known him.

"It's a waste to throw them out." He simply replied.

She nodded and glanced around his room once again.

"Nothing has changed…" She inhaled deeply and let the air out. "This brings back so many good memories." She smiled as she twirled around his room. She was twirling and smiling, Tezuka watching, very amused, when she suddenly stopped and her smile faltered.

"My…"

"Hn?" Tezuka walked over to where she was standing.

"My-my book." Tears started welling in the corner of her eyes as she pointed to a book, perched on a stand inside his closet. Tezuka looked at her oddly for a moment, but a look of realization struck him and he walked next to her. Kari just stood there, her finger pointing at the said book.

"It's…" She was still looking slightly shocked.

Tezuka took down the book from its stand and brought the both of them to his bed to sit upon. He gave her a confused look and she opened her mouth again to speak.

"So long…" She started. "How long you have…there isn't even dust on it…" She looked up at Tezuka with watery eyes. "You kept this for me?" She held the book in disbelief.

"It's rude to treat someone else's property carelessly." He said without any emotion.

She nodded, if he had looked closely he would have noticed the disappointment on her face, but he didn't focus on such trivial matters. To him, his world revolved around: first tennis, and second, school. She clutched the book against her chest and swung her legs off the side of the bed.

"Um…So…well, I better get going." She struggled to smile. She quickly walked out of his room and sprinted down the stairs. She walked out of his house and onto the street, earning curious gazes from the three regulars waiting outside.

"Do you know the way ho—"

Kari had already turned the corner, oblivious to what Momo was saying.

When had he become like that? She didn't know him anymore. Anger started welling inside of her. He had no right to be so unsympathetic. She was walking swiftly down the road when she stopped. She had been so ignorant, so selfish. _She_ was the one who was being inconsiderate and unfair. Why had she expected him to be the same, after she hadn't seen him in ten years? He had always been so quiet and unsocial before. But after a while, he became different; he laughed and smiled and actually talked, that was the Tezuka that she knew, the Tezuka that she liked, and the Tezuka that she missed. It wasn't his fault, she was being silly. But she couldn't help but feel sad; he wasn't the Tezuka she had known before. Sure, he had acted the way he did just now when she knew him back then, but that was only until they had officially became friends. Afterwards, he had always been more social and friendly. Believe it or not, he even laughed and told jokes. She shook her head, trying to clear it of any more lingering thoughts about him. She was so deep into thought that she didn't realize that she had no clue where to go and how to get back to her hotel. She sat down on a bench—she hadn't realized she'd stormed into a park. She was frustrated, she was in a stupid park, she didn't know who Tezuka was anymore, and she couldn't get home. She looked around her, willing someone she knew to come and save her. After testing her ESP abilities to its maximum capabilities, she reluctantly gave up. It was useless, she was stuck in Japan, didn't know how to get back to the hotel, couldn't speak the language…WAIT! She smacked her forehead. She _could_ speak Japanese. Was she stupid? Why not just go up to some nice person and ask for directions. She jumped up excitedly and started to look around for someone to ask directions from. Kari stopped mid-step, realizing why she hadn't done this earlier; because she didn't know where her hotel was located. She didn't even know the name of the hotel. All she knew was that it was big, expensive, and famous. She decided to give the description a shot and relayed what she had just thought to a nearby stranger.

"Um, excuse me. I'm lost." She tapped a man that was standing near a light post.

He was the only person she could see within a 50 feet radius, and he seemed old and harmless.

"Yoouuu'reee LOOOOSSSSTTTT ehhhhh????" The man slurred.

Kari immediately noticed the way he slurred his words and that the man was drunk. He had a mischievous look in his eyes. This couldn't be any good.

"Ah, um no, I'm not. I was kidding, eheheh…" She yelled at herself for being so stupid. She had carelessly gotten herself into a mess she didn't know how to get out of. "Keeedddiiinnnggg? I dooonnn't thinnnnk soooo missssssssyy." He inched towards her, his arm outstretched.

"EH?! AH! PERVERT!" She screamed.

As soon as the man heard her scream, he panicked and moved to grab her arm. Kari was just as panicked and fought to release his painful grasp on her arm. He was surprisingly strong for someone that drunk. She clenched her teeth and pulled her arm with all her might, screaming for help at the same time. It was odd, she was in a park yet there was no one there. There was something wrong with the park, not even one person there—that was incredibly unbelievable.

"GET—YOUR—FILTHY—HANDS—OFF OF ME!" Kari screeched.

The man seemed to pay no attention to Kari's screams of protest. She was starting to become extremely suspicious as to why no one was running to her screams. They could be heard from far away, was there really no one near the park? She just couldn't understand how coincidental her situation was. She had had enough of the drunk man and put her foot on the mans leg, in position to pull her arm out. The man realized what she was trying the do and gripped even tighter on her wrist.

"YOU—IDIOT!" She yelled as she grabbed his wrist and hurled him some random direction. He was light, making the load easier on her. She dusted her hands as she examined the unconscious man.

"Hah, piece of cake—OW!" There was a throbbing pain in her wrist.

"Headstrong as always eh?"

Kari whirled around to face the owner of the voice

"It's been a while hasn't it…_Kariko_­-chan."


	4. Vindiction!

- So I figured I should type out a good amount before I started posting the stories again, but it obviously didn't work out so I'll just be posting every now and then. SAT and school is such a bitch, so I'm sorry for REALLY slow updates but hey, I've never updated quickly before.

-Thank you for those of you who have been reading my stories. I didn't really understand why authors wanted reviews so much, but NOW I DO. It helps us gauge just how much people like the story, and that in turn gives me motivation to not be lazy and improve my story. Therefore, PLEASE review! (It makes me sad when people flame it for no good reason, but nevertheless...)

-You probably have noticed by now, but my grammar isn't all that great. Actually, it just flat out sucks. I have been trying to fix that but I'm not too good at editing in the wee hours of the morning, and beta readers, well I'd probably piss them all off with my irregular writing schedules. I don't promise a dramatic decrease of non-reference pronouns or subject-verb agreement [just because I hate answering those questions on SAT and I'd like to deal with them as little as possible] but I will definitely try to curb my tendency to have typos and misused punctuation [I realized how annoying comma splices and misused semi-colons are].

SO, Thank you for reading that, if you actually did take the time to read that then you're pretty damn cool. You get a cookie, go ask your mother for one. ONWARD WITH THE STORY!

(I just reread this... this chapter... well makes me sound like a ditz but this chapter ain't all that great. Sorry =.=)

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"No way. That is not you Fuji is it?" She stared at him with disbelief, scanning his appearance several times.

"Saa…Why shouldn't this be me?" He grinned

"Oh my goodness. You are way too tall now." Kari grinned also. "You used to be so short, shorter than me. I thought that'd always be the case." She sighed. "Now the youngster is taller than me now. You and Tezuka both. Sheesh I think you two sucked the growth hormones out of me back when we were little." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ahh. I'm sorry Kariko-chan. Do you want them back?" Fuji smiled.

She looked at him oddly for a moment, and then changed the topic.

"Eh, Fuji-kun. Why do you call me Kariko?"

"Saa. Don't you think Kariko-chan sounds cute?" Fuji looked at her.

"…Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Can you just help me get home?" She asked him.

"Well where is your hotel?" He asked her.

"Well…um…good question. I have no clue what the name of it is. I only know that inside there are different wings, each wing designed in a specific way. Like the East wing has all different types of rooms, honoring someone or something famous." She hoped her explanation was descriptive enough. I mean seriously, how many hotels in Tokyo have rooms built after famous people/things?

"Hmm…I think you might be talking about Imperial Empress Hotel." Fuji said after he thought for a moment. "It isn't that far from here—pretty reasonable walking distance. It should be right." He led her to a taxi and dropped her off in front of the hotel. "Is this the one?"

"You are a _genius _Fuji!" She laughed and hugged him. " Ahh, so great to be back. I can't wait to stuff myself with all that good food." She smiled at him. "Thanks again, here…" She grabbed a random receipt in her jean pocket and scribbled down her room number with his pen. "Call me; I can't wait to see you and the others again!" She turned around and entered the hotel. She quickly disappeared into the elevator, and was gone. Fuji looked at what she had written on the piece of paper and chuckled to himself. On the paper, it said, "YOU WISH!" Typical Kari.

Kari sprinted into the room, only to find Hana standing there, looking absolutely furious.

"Ehe…wrong room. My bad." She slammed the door, but Hana's arm blocked it from closing.

"You. You have a lot of explaining to do." Hana's eyes were shining.

'I swear, she looks like she's about to explode.' Thought Kari.

"Funny you say so, well I uh. Ahem, well you know… nature calls!" Kari smiled and ran into the bathroom.

"NO YOU DON'T!" Hana screamed.

There was a large thump and a crash, then a chorus of "Oooh's" and "Ahhhhh's."

"Yeah…I'm pretty sure that door was not supposed to make that sound, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant to be opened like that." Wendy stared at the shattered maple door, pieces of it could be found within that general area, stuck in areas where it should not have appeared.

After a quick chase around the spacious hotel room, Kari finally gave in to Hana's antics. She knew it was something she'd have to face sooner or later, and she didn't have as much stamina as Hana. Better to give in voluntarily rather than be forced to—saves face. Two dreadful hours locked up in the same room with Hana can send one straight into rehab. Kari was fine, but it almost drove her insane the way she could drone on and on about such meaningless topics.

It was already past five in the afternoon, but somehow it was still bright and lively outside the hotel window. Hana and the others had already left to take a tour scheduled by their coach, around the city. Kari was left at the hotel to contemplate how serious her actions had been and to reflect on what she could improve…hell no. Kari pouted and slumped into one of the overly stiff recliners. She couldn't believe it, she didn't think Hana lacked so much heart that she would actually _leave_ Kari at a hotel. _Exclude_ her from one of the most potential boyfriend scouts of her lifetime. It was utterly impossible to think about. Kari wasn't happy at all, but there really was no other choice. Her legs were feeling cramped and she was starting to feel disgusted at how fancy the hotel was. All she yearned for was her comfy futon at home, not some big squishy bed. She slid into some sneakers and grabbed a coat. A rush of air swirled around her, making her frustration slowly fade away. It was only then that she realized that she was wearing Hana's coat. Not good. Not good at all. She could either go back into their room and grab her own jacket, or disregard the matter. She knew she probably should return the jacket, but what the heck. She was already breaking the rule by exiting the hotel; why not break some more rules just for the heck of it. She was way too lazy to even spare those extra three minutes just to return a damn jacket. Nothing was worth more work, unless it was food.

It was slightly nostalgic walking through the same streets she had been running through just that morning. It wasn't hard for her to walk without realizing where she was going, she often went into trances, dreaming about absolutely nothing. Plus it didn't make it any easier that there was this lingering smell of violet and amber. It wasn't a surprise when she bumped into someone and realized that she again, had absolutely no clue where she was. That is…until she turned around. There, there stood the park where she had encountered the drunk old pervert, and that was where she had met Fuji. All the day's events came replaying back into her mind, and she suddenly remembered why she thought the park was so odd. There was still no one near the park. Across the street where she had awoken from her reverie had plenty of people walking to and fro, but the park in itself was empty. She was unsettled by this, but her gut instinct told her not to delve into the matter further. Nevertheless, she was Kari, and she was curious Curiosity killed the cat right? But she was born in the year of the dog, so no worries. She chuckled to herself when she remembered how many times Hana had berated her not to use such out rightly absurd logic. But it worked for her, so she refrained from changing her methods of reasoning.

First, Kari looked around the general area. It was a common park no doubt, flower beds, benches, lamp posts, and bountiful amounts of grass. But still, there was something wrong with the picture. Something didn't seem to fit in. That's when it hit her. The supposed fence staring straight at her wasn't a fence at all. But then again, that was just a hunch. She wouldn't be able to figure it out until...her feet never really cooperated with her brain. She was in front of the towering fence before she allowed herself to contemplate the possible consequences. She peered through the wood boards, and tapped on it. It seemed fine, so she leaned in closer to get a better look. That's when it struck her, literally. A fragrant wave of that same smell, violet amber. She knew it vaguely but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She followed the peculiar fence, circling it until she reached a certain part where the fragrance was particularly strong. She leaned against the said spot, only to have it collapse underneath her. You know those movies where the main character falls forever and ever and they think they're never going to reach the bottom? Well Kari did, within milliseconds. Her cheek hurt like a mother, and her elbow was aching from cushioning the blow.

Kari unsteadily regained her balance and stood up. It was dark, it was eerie, and she was freaked out. Dark places had never been her forte, and there she was. In a mysterious park in a pitch black place. It didn't help that she felt a bony hand slide towards her shoulders. Her first instinct was to scream for help. But she was so in shock and in fear that she could feel herself shaking violently, and her jaw was rendered useless as well. She had always pictured this moment, maybe not exactly, but pretty close. It was one matter to have nightmares about being stuck in a dark area, with some freak's hand clenched around your shoulder. It was another matter to be experiencing it, except with two more hands creeping around your face. Now this time, she miraculously enabled her vocal cords to stop being so damn useless, and she screamed. She screamed as loud as she could manage, not caring about damaging her voice. She was freaked out, and she wanted to go home. She was having flashes of scenes run through her mind. She was instantly regretting not listening to Hana, she regretted wearing Hana's jacket, and she even went so far as to mentally forgive Hibari, softly whispering out all the apologies.

Tears were accumulating at the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall any second. Suddenly the hands that were covering her eyes, putting pressure on her face, and the hands that were grasping her shoulders disappeared. Kari spun around, hopping to her feet simultaneously. She waved her hands about her wildly, still shaking in fear. Suddenly, there was a loud 'Click' and lights consumed the darkness around her. Kari rubbed her eyes, not yet used to the brightness of the area. When her vision adjusted, she scanned her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was and what she should do. Within a second it dawned on her what had happened.

You know that feeling you get when you just get conned by a friend? Yeah, that's what Kari was experiencing, except she just got conned from the one friend she believed to be heartless. Hana stood in front of Kari, grinning wickedly.

"Boo."

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I have absolutely no idea how to space my big pargraphs as so they're actually legible. My only solution was to break them up into even smaller paragrpahs so they might be cut off in awkward places, my appologies.

Review please, it REALLY helps if you do!


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